11 October 2026, 10:19
Naftogaz has partially recovered a debt from a Kherson laboratory
Ця стаття також доступна українською
The court partially granted Naftogaz Trading’s claim against the Kherson State Laboratory to recover 464,000 hryvnias for gas supplied in January and February 2022. Claims for payment for March and April were dismissed due to the occupation of the city.
This is stated in the decision of the Commercial Court of the Odesa Region.
The contract for the supply of natural gas between Naftogaz Trading LLC and the Kherson Regional State Laboratory named after Prof. L.S. Tsenkovsky of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection was signed back in late 2021.
In its lawsuit, the Kyiv-based company demanded payment of 490,800 hryvnias. This amount consisted of gas debt accumulated from December 2021 through April 2022, as well as accrued penalties, inflation adjustments, and 3% annual interest. The gas company argued that it had fully complied with the terms of the agreement, while the client had paid only part of the amount due.
Representatives of the Kherson laboratory agreed only partially with the demands. The institution emphasized that since early March 2022, Kherson had been under occupation, which effectively forced the laboratory to cease operations. The institution did not sign any fuel acceptance and transfer certificates for March and April 2022, and the trade or supply of resources to territories occupied by the enemy is expressly prohibited by Ukrainian law.
Due to the complexity of the legal precedent, the case was repeatedly suspended pending final clarification from the Supreme Court regarding similar disputes.
The court agreed with the defendant’s arguments. In its ruling, it ordered the Kherson state agency to pay the plaintiff 464,600 hryvnias, which pertain exclusively to the pre-war period.In addition, the laboratory must reimburse 5,575 hryvnias in court fees. The court found all of Naftogaz Trading’s claims for the recovery of funds and penalties for the period of occupation to be unfounded and dismissed them in their entirety.
